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[House  of  Rkprkskmatives,  No.  306.] 

HOUSE  OTJ'  REPRESENTATIVES  Fohninrv  10. 1804.— Road 
first  and  second  times,  laid  on  the  table  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 

[By  Mr.  Chambbps. 

A    BILL 

To  be  ontitb^d  "An  Act  to  provide  means  to  cnrry  on  the 
•rnvornnirnt. 

1  The  Cou'rrcs'!  of  the  Con  federate  Sfafs  of  .America  do  enact, 

2  That  one-half  of  all  tdc  cotton  ai:d  tobacco  in  the  Confederacy 

3  shall  be  {wuchapcd,  borrowed  or  pressed  for  the  .i^ovcmraent  in 

4  the  manner  provided  by  law  for  the  impressment  of  other  proper- 

5  ty,  on  the  followino-   terms  :  fo  1)0  renirned  in  kind  of  equal 

6  quantity  and  (innlih    ^t  the  same  place  within  five  years  after 

7  the  end  of  the  present  war,  the  owner  boini^  furnished  with  an 

8  assignable  certificate  to  that  effect,  or  at  the  oi)tion  of  the  owner, 
0  to  be  paid  for  at  its  specie  value  in  bonds  of  the  government, 

10  at  par;  which    bonds  may  be  issued  by  the  Secretary  of  the 

1 1  Treasury,  and  shall  be  redeemable  ?i\c  years  after  the  end  of  the 

12  preeent  war,  and  shall  bear  interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent 

13  per  annum,  payable  semi-annually  in  specie.    And  the  same  rate 

14  of  interest,  payable  in  like  manner,  shall  be  allowed  on  the  val- 

15  ue  of  cotton  or  tobacco  borrowed  as  above  provided,  (which 

16  value  shall  be  ascertained  as  in  cases  of  impressment,)  and  shall 
IT  bo  paid  to  the  holder  of  the  assignable  certificate  hereinbefore 


2 

18  authorized,  under  such  rules  and  regulations  as  the  Secretary  of 

ID  the  Treasury  may  prescribe. 

1  Sec.  2.  That  the  authority  horei 'I  granted   to  purchase,  bor- 

2  row  or  impress  cotion  or  toliacco,  shall  be  exercised  in  the  fol- 
•  3  lowing  manner,  to-wit :  one  half  only  of  the  cotton  or  tobacco 

4  of  any  owner  shall  be  taken,  and  when  the  same  owner,  whether 

5  an  individual,  company,  corporation  or  association  of  persons, 

6  shall  own  more  than  one  lot  of  cotton  and  tobacco,  the  lots  being 

7  in  different  places,  one  half  of  each  lot  shall  be  taken  :  and  the 

8  hall  taken  in  any  case  shall  be  an  undivided  half  interest  in  the 

9  whole   number  of  pounds  of  the   lot,   the  owner  reserving  an 

10  equal  interest  in  the  aggregate.     All  risks,  losses,  damages  and 

1 1  expenses  thereafter  incurred  or  suffered  upon  said  cotton  or  to- 
1'2  bacco,  until  the  same  shall  have  been  sold  and  the  proceeds  di- 

13  vided  as   hereinafter  i)rovided,  shall  be   borne  equally  by  the 

14  (government  and  the  owner  of  the  otlicr  half  interest. 

1  Skc.  3.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  is  hereby  authorized 

2  to  sell  the  whole  of  said  cotton  or  tobacco,  or  any  one  lot  or  any 

3  j»!irt  of  any  one  lot  thereof,  for  foreign  cxcliange,  gold,  silver, 

4  Treasury  notes  of  the  Confederate  States,  or  bonds  of  the  five 
f)  hundred  million  loan,  authorized  by  tlic  Act  approved  February 
G  17,  1805  ;  and  onc-iialf  of  the  nett  proceeds  of  such  sale,  after 

7  deducting  such  an  amount  as  maybe  chargeable  against  the  said 

8  cotton  or  tobacco   for  preserving  and  transjiorting  the  same,  or 


9  otherwise,  shall  be  paid  to  tiir  owner  of  the  reserved  haif-inter- 

10  est,  or  to  the  assignee  or  legal  representative  of  said  owner,  in 

11  the  funds  received  by  the  Government  for  the  same. 

1  Sec.  4.  The  half-interest  in  cotton  f  r  tobacco  reserved  to  the 

2  owner,  under  the  provisions  of  this  Act,  shall  l)C  and  is  hereby 

3  declared    perpetually  exempted  from  liability  to  impressment 

4  under  the  authority  of  this  Government,  nor  shall  cotton  or  to- 

5  bacco,  sold  under   this   Act  by  the   Government,  be  afterwards 

6  impressed  by  authority  thereof. 

1  Sec  5.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  under  the  direction 

2  of  the  President,  may  appoint  a  principal  agent   in  each  State, 

3  and  such  other  agents,  not  liable  to  military  service  in  the  field, 

4  as  he  shall  deem  necessary  to  carry  the   provisions  of  this  Act 

5  into  effect,  under  his  instructions.     They  shall  give  such  bonds 
fi  as  he  shall  require,  and  shall   be  compensated   by  such  commis- 

7  sions  or  allowances   as  he  shall  prescribe,  in  proportion  to  the 

8  amounts  of  cotton   or  tobacco   obtained  and  reduced    into  the 

9  possession   of  the  government   through    their  agency    rcspec- 
10  tively. 


